


Dying to Survive

by ScientificCorgi



Category: The Ultimate Sidemen
Genre: A Lot of Death, Action, Adventure, Angst, Blood, Fluff, M/M, Murder, Seriously a shit tonne sorry, Suicide, minizerk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-26 06:37:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7564024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScientificCorgi/pseuds/ScientificCorgi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boys decide to travel to America for two weeks, but something happens to them which leads to them missing their flight.<br/>A Sidemen + Cals story.<br/>Warnings will be displayed in the notes of each chapter if necessary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Off to America

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: None

“Come on guys, we’re late! We’ll miss the flight if you don’t hurry up.” Josh stands by the front door, tapping his foot impatiently, already packed and organised. Simon trots down the stairs carrying a bland black suitcase. “Careful!” Josh reaches out to steady the frantic man and catches him just in time before he face-plants on the floor.

“Sorry,” Simon laughs nervously and straightens himself up. “I panicked.”

“Have you got everything?”

“Yeah, pretty much. We’re only going for two weeks though, right?”

Josh hums in approval. “Vik, man, come on!”

A flurry of raven-black hair runs toward them suddenly. “Sorry, I needed to make sure my videos were scheduled to upload.”

“It’s okay. Right, let’s go and meet up with everyone.”

The drive to the Stratford Halo in Josh’s car is short; and after waiting a short while outside the building they witness Harry and both Cals exit. 30 seconds later, JJ and Tobi come out of the door and Tobi runs up to the car window, knocking on it a few times before Josh opens it.

“Hey man, what’s up?”

“Ethan will be a while, he needed to take a shit.” 

Josh smirks. “Okay. Shall we lead? You guys can catch up-“

At that second, Ethan sprints to JJ’s car, bulging suitcase trailing noisily behind him. He opens the door then steps in.

“Yeah, you go first. We’ll be right behind you.” Tobi jogs to meet back up with JJ and Ethan.

All in all, they are taking three cars, Josh’s, JJ’s and Harry’s. The Cals and Harry in one car, JJ, Ethan and Tobi in another and finally Vik, Josh and Simon take Josh’s car.

Josh leads the way to Heathrow Airport which is a good 20 minutes from where they are.

Unfortunately, the journey is lengthened by traffic.

“Ah, fantastic. We’re never going to make it. I knew we should’ve woken up earlier.”

“Josh, stop stressing, man. We’re not going to miss our flight. It’s in an hour, we’ll be-“

-

_“Our top news story tonight: A severe pile up on the M4 earlier today was caused by a drunk lorry driver. The accident is said to have caused two deaths and it is estimated that about fifty have been injured. Those injured have been immediately transferred to the nearest available hospital and most are expected to make a full recovery. Police say that the drunk driver was a serial killer named Thomas Plinkett, who has been missing for the past six months. Police have taken him into custody for questioning. All lanes are currently closed but should be opened once the cars have been cleared.”_


	2. Where Are We?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: None

_//Josh’s POV//_

_Day One_

My arms feel like they are pinned down to the surface I am lying sideways on. Same goes for my legs, head and every party of my body. My eyes are the only thing I can move, so I open them slowly, only to reveal someone’s clothed back. Confusion elopes my brain as I try to figure out who it is; short blond hair, pale complexion, skinny compared to me…

Simon?

It can’t be Simon; if it is, why are we sleeping like this? Why am I sleeping in the same bed as him, basically spooning him?

I lie there for what seems like a day, but eventually the silence is broken by some faint bickering in the next room. Tuning my ears to listen to the conversation, I lie still hoping to figure out who is arguing.

“No, no, why are you in the same bed as me?”

“Well I don’t fucking know! Why were you pressed against my back? I could practically feel your dick against my ass! It’s disgusting!”

“Calm down guys, I’m sure we can figure this out.”

Tobi had just said that, I’m pretty sure. Is that… Ethan and Calfreezy?

“Josh, what the fuck, bro?” A loud shout jolts me back to reality. Simon has turned around and is now staring at me, his eyebrows raised and lines appearing on his forehead.  
“Where are we, Simon?”

“I don’t know, but why are you in the same bed as me?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure Ethan and Freezy had this exact conversation a few seconds ago.” Simon turns his body around, sits up and pushes himself off the bed. I decide to join him, so with a bit of a struggle, I move next to the younger man. Looking around, I note that JJ and Vik are in beds in front and to the side of us. There is also a door leading out into what I can only presume is a hallway. To test my prediction, I step towards the door, grabbing the brass door handle and pulling inwards. It turns out I was correct; a cream-coloured hallway stood before me leading to the right. Directly in front of me is another door, similar to the one I am still holding on to. 

Stepping out into the hallway, I reach for the other handle and push the door open. Feeling a presence behind me, I glance behind my body and notice Simon looking over my shoulder.

The room I had just stepped into was a mirror image of the room I woke up in, plus an extra bed opposite what would have been JJ’s bed. Looking to the left, I see Harry in a single bed still sleeping - how that boy can sleep through an argument that I heard from the other side of the building, is beyond me - Ethan and Calfreezy, faces red and flustered are sat as far away as they can on the double bed. Looking further around the room, Tobi sits back against the wall and Callux sits opposite.

“Hey guys, sleep well?” I say, trying to crack the icy atmosphere.

“Well what do you think? I wake up, face to face with Cal-Invades-Everyone’s-Personal-Space-freezy.”

I hear Tobi sigh and Simon stifle a laugh.

“Are you guys gonna get up or…?”

“Yeah, yeah, fine.” Ethan huffs out of the room. Freezy follows soon after, along with Tobi and the other Cal. Harry is still sleeping. I walk over to his bedside and shake his shoulders gently.

“Harry?” I whisper. After waiting for a response that didn’t come, I raise my voice slightly. “Harry? You awake?”

Harry practically jumps out of bed, pushing me out of the way. He pushes me so violently that my hip bangs itself on the square bedside table. I yelp loudly, hands automatically going to grab my side.

“Josh, you okay?” Simon jogs to my side, head twisting as if he wants to look at my now bruising hip.

“Yeah, I’m good. Let’s wake the others if they’re not awake already.”

“Sounds good,” Simon protrudes out into the opposite bedroom. “Guys, wake up!” Him and his big mouth, sometimes.

I hear groaning from the room, and I make my way over, hand still attached to my side.

Upon entering the room, I notice that Simon is straddling Jide, shaking him violently and yelling at him to wake up.

“Allow me, fam! Simon, fuck off!” Simon laughs then carefully jumps down to the floor.

“What do we do? I mean, where the Hell are me?” Vik exchanged glances to every person in the room bar Jide.

“Maybe we should find out, I’ll go see.” Ethan being the closest person to the door volunteered to go outside the building, presumably a house. “Guys, come down here!” Every person in the room floods out to find Ethan.

Downstairs feels quite spacious; a room with tables and chairs about 20 metres in front, a small room beside it and another large room next to the staircase. Looking in briefly, I see a large television and several ugly striped sofas.

Ethan is standing on a sun-bathed wooden porch, looking out at what can only be described as a large American city. Calfreezy digs his hand around in his coat pocket, probably looking for his phone. Instead, he pulls out a rectangular ID.

“What- Guys, do you all have an ID? I’ve never seen this before in my life.”

Confused, I slide my hand into my jacket pocket. The only thing in there is an ID similar to Freezy’s. It states my full name, date of birth along with age and gender – just a generic ID at first. Apart from one thing; a ‘Wanted’ stamp.

“I have a wanted stamp on my ID.” I hear Simon say, the others nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Same.”

“Why though? Are we wanted for murder or something?” Callux says, fondling the ID in his hand.

“I don’t know-“

A loud bang followed by shouting interrupts Tobi, and we all look towards the source of the sound. A small group of police officers stand, shields up in defence and guns pointing towards us, some ready to shoot at us.

“Run, guys!”

We all quickly scurry away, our legs scrambling over the cracked pavement, sprinting around the nearby corner. Simon and Tobi, being quicker than the rest of us, are a few feet ahead instinctively planning a route of escape. I don’t know about the other guys, but I feel like I could collapse at any moment.

We run for a good fifteen minutes before even thinking about taking a rest.

“We’ve lost them, I think.” I huff, doubling over with my hands on my knees and taking in what I can of the humid air.

“Is everyone okay? No one got shot, yeah?” I see Simon out of the corner of my eye immediately taking control of the situation, taking into account everyone’s physical state. Luckily, no one is hurt.

“Wait a minute, do you recognise this place?” Harry says. Simon thinks for a minute.

“Oh my God.” A hand covers his chin, flushed cheeks standing out from the rest of his face. “Guys, we’re in Los Santos. Y’know, the GTA Los Santos.”


	3. A Whole New World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: None.

_//Josh’s POV//_

_Night One_

“Why the fuck are we in Los Santos?” Harry asks, pacing the dark alleyway.

“Harry, sit down.” It has been a few hours since we outran the police. Still high on adrenaline, Harry, Ethan and Calfreezy pace worriedly about the alley.

“Right, yeah, sorry.” Finally, the blond sits down beside JJ.

“But what do we do? Do we just continue life as normal?” Simon says, fiddling with his white laces on his shoes. 

A strangled noise comes from in front of me – I look up to see Harry shivering, hands raised covering his face, his fingers entangled in his already messy hair.

“Harry?”

“…”

“Harry!” JJ turns to look at Harry and nudges him, only enticing more strangled screaming from Harry.

“We have one month to escape… we need- we need to die…” Harry’s voice wavers as he speaks, making it even more worrying for the rest of us. Calfreezy looks over to him, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Bog, what are you saying?”

“Die… or we will die in real life…”

“Is he saying this is not real life?”

“Well you did say this was GTA.”

“No. I said this was Los Santos like the one in GTA.”

I begin to panic, heart rate quickening, my breath becoming uneven.

“Josh, bro, calm down.” A hand falls on my left shoulder, and I look over to find Simon glaring at me. “It’s okay, man.”

I force my heart to slow down and collect myself before speaking. “Why are you acting so supportive now?”

“Because you’re freaking out-“

“I’m freaking out? Have you seen Harry?”

Harry, startled, flicks his head in my direction.

“What have I done?” 

Everyone turns their attention to the quizzical man.

“Do you not know what you just did, Bog? You had a fit or something and told us that we must die within one month.”

Harry looks confused, his eyebrows raising even further above his eyes.

“Anyway, we need to do something. Let’s just ignore…” Simon gestures in the other blond’s vague direction. “Whatever Harry just did.”

“What’s the plan then?” I ask, looking at Simon who is in the process of standing up.

“We find cars. We’ll split up into, say, four pairs-“

“I have two questions so far.” Ethan says, raising his voice above Simon’s. “One: how do we get cars, and two: do you realise that there are nine of us?”

Simon pauses. “If my memory is correct there is a car park nearby with a bunch of cars in that we could borrow.”

“You mean steal?”

“No, no, we’ll return them after.” Simon then continues with his plan. “Me, Josh and Ethan will be Team A. Harry and Callux, Team B. Vik and JJ, Team C. Which leaves, Freezy and Tobi in Team D.”

“Oh so, I’m with the one who has fits and speaks of death?” Callux questions jokingly. “I’m cool with that.”

Simon retrieves his glance from Callux. “Then one group will get food and water if there’s none left. One will get weapons. One will ask around for information and the other team will explore for out-of-place things and shit. We’ll find out what thing each group will do later.”

Everyone nods in agreement. Man, Simon is a great leader all of a sudden.


	4. The Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: None.

_//Josh’s POV//_

_Day Two_

I awake in the same bed as I did yesterday with Simon still sleeping peacefully beside me. It feels weird to be sleeping in the same bed as Simon, but we’re only mates, right? Nothing more. Just two straight dudes sharing a bed, that’s normal.

I slide the quilt off me and begin to push myself off the bed and stand at the foot of it. Everyone in this room is awake bar Simon; Jide staring into the ceiling and Vik sitting on the edge of his bed staring at me.

“Morning.” I say after yawning. Vik smiles and moves towards me. JJ suddenly snaps out of his imagination and leans against the wall.

“Are the others awake or is it just us?” Vik asks, hands hanging loosely by his sides. I shrug and walk over to Simon, gently shaking his right shoulder. He wakes with a start.

“Good morning.” His hand travels up to his face and wipes at his eyes.

“Morning.” I say, stepping back one step and allowing him to stand as well. As expected, he stands and goes straight for the door. He opens the door, then walks to the opposite one. I move over to him then he walks through the doorway and I see that everyone is awake.

“Morning.” Callux says, his black hair dishevelled from being woken up. I notice that Ethan and Freezy are sitting on the same double bed as yesterday; I presume that they slept there last night just like me and Simon had done.

Simon rubs his hands together and says loudly, “Right, guys! We need to find out what’s going on here.” He turns so his back is pressed against the doorframe. “Team A, that’s me, Josh and Ethan, will get food because we apparently have none. Team B, that’s Harry and Callux, will get weapons. Guys, just remember not to go overboard. Vik and JJ, you will ask around for information and Freezy and Tobi will explore the area for things out-of-place. Any questions?”

I never noticed this whole ‘leader’ trait in Simon before: is it just because it’s not actually him, or have I always been this blind?

Everyone is well-informed and goes downstairs to complete their set task. Simon gives Callux $3000 of the $5000 he found yesterday in a safe behind a painting. He then takes a few hundred dollars for food and water.

I should say at this point that there was in fact a car park where Simon had said; an array of colourful cars lay in the parking bays, some not parked accurately. Simon had also assigned all of the teams cars.

After 20 minutes or so of walking, we come across the car park and take the white car parked closest to the exit. Simon was driving because he practically knows the Los Santos streets off by heart from playing GTA most days. Well, when we were in London, anyway.

_//Callux’s POV//_

I step out of the car, heading towards the gun shop me and Harry found. Upon entering, the strong scent of metal and guns hit me like a shovel. I walk up to the middle-aged white man by the till.

“Uh, hey. Can we get some guns please?”

“This is a gun store. What guns do you want?” His voice is gruff and the cigarette in his hand is probably the reason why his voice is like that. Harry walks up beside me after browsing the wall littered with guns and ammo.

“A few pistols with ammo please.”

“$2000. Is that all?” Wow, guns are expensive.

“Uh, two sets of throwing knives.”

“Is that all?” Harry looks towards me and I nod thinking that is enough.

“Uh, yes.”

“$2600 total.”

I give the man all but $400 of our money and we collect the weapons and sit back in the car.

_//JJ’s POV//_

Vik and I have walked around Los Santos for an hour now, and so far these are the facts and tips we’ve gotten;

\- Today is Tuesday 2nd April 2019  
\- Trust no one  
\- Do not make eye contact, it is a sign of aggression (Vik found that out the hard way)  
\- Do not engage in any offers or deals on the street

It’s not much to go on, but at least it’s something.

We also can’t trust the police, apparently, or doctors for that matter; people have said that it is really expensive to get treated any way.

-

We walk around until sunset gathering a few more pieces of information. Vik hasn’t really spoken to anyone because of him being the quiet type. I talked to a dozen more people although some were not friendly.

“Hey JJ, shouldn’t we be getting back? It’s almost 7pm and we don’t know what it’s like here at-“

“Yeah, yeah, okay.” I lead the way back to where we parked the car.

I find it ten minutes later, and both me and Vik sit in the black Zentorno, me in the driver’s seat. After forcing the car to start, and getting it out of neutral, I press my foot down on the accelerator and I drive to our hopefully temporary house.


	5. Tragedy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Blood

_//Josh’s POV//_

_Night 2_

Everyone is sat around the coffee table in the living room, a few of us still eating. We had already shared everything each team got; me, Simon and Ethan brought back enough food to last a month which, if Harry’s correct, is all we need. Harry and Callux gave each pair a set of weapons; the three pistols were given around with equal amounts of ammo and each pair got a few throwing knives. It all seems a bit excessive if I’m honest.

“Oh yeah, the date is also Tuesday 2nd April 2019. And we are definitely in Los Santos.” Concludes JJ who has just finished a sandwich he made.

“Also, we checked everywhere and there is nothing out of the ordinary,” Tobi says, sinking into the sofa. “Absolutely nothing.”

I glance at the clock on the wall; midnight.

“Guys, we should really head back to bed.” I say, making a move towards the open door. The others make sounds of approval then, one by one, exit the living room.

“I might sleep down here, Ethan’s getting on my nerves and I am not sleeping in the same bed as him again.” Freezy lies across the longest sofa, his long legs dangling over the side. He reaches around for a cushion and slots it under his head.

“Okay, see you later.” And with that, I close the door and head upstairs to bed.

-

_//Calfreezy’s POV//_

I keep tossing and turning, but I can’t sleep for some reason; it is uncomfortable but I have a nagging sensation it is not that. I can barely see a foot in front of me as there is no source of light in the room, bar the moonlight shining onto the carpet through the windows.

I sink further into the cushions, trying to get comfortable, but I hear a knock at the door. It’s been at least an hour since the other guys have gone upstairs, so I guess that they’re all asleep.

Knock knock.

Irritated, I push myself off the sofa and feel my way around the room until I hit a door handle. I push it down and pull the door open then walk out into the hallway. It’s a little bit lighter, I still can’t see much though. I stumble to the front door and blindly open it.

Fuck.

Two figures stand, metallic knives at their sides.

Before I know it, a knife is plunged into my side, a splitting pain ripping through me. A second knife stabs into my chest, but the pain is slightly more numb. A gloved hand is pressed roughly at my mouth, muting my screams as I am pushed to the carpet. My mind races and my heart beat quickens. I feel myself getting drained of blood and energy, my skin becoming increasingly wetter. I don’t realise I’m gasping for air until a hand shakes my shoulder.

“Callum! Oh shit, Cal, stay with us!” A voice says.

“Fucking talk to him, someone. He’s going to die, oh my God, oh my God…”

“… listen, mate… stay with us…”

“No! … please, please…”

My eyes shut slowly and I begin to fall into the dark void, no longer sensing pain or distress.

_//Josh’s POV//_

Oh my fucking God. The intruders have stabbed Calfreezy and he’s bleeding out on the carpet!

“Calfreezy, listen, mate, I’m… oh fuck, stay with us, Cal!” I scramble around the house looking for a first aid kit, or a bandage or anything to stop the masses of blood and to save our friend. In the kitchen, I find a roll of bandage and I sprint to where the guys are crowding around him. Everything is a blur as I push them out of the way, fingers fumbling with the roll. I kneel next to the wounds and grab the nearest thing to me, which happens to be someone’s hand, and I sternly instruct them to press the hand against the blood flow. I don’t know if I’m doing it right, but if I can stop the blood flowing so damn fast we could have a chance. My hands fly about his body, wrapping the bandages around his torso tightly.

“Josh…”

“No! Callum, you will listen to me. Stay with us… please, please… stay… with us…” My hands slow down and I realise the scene in front of me; Calfreezy lies in a pool of his own thick, red blood. “No…” My fingers lose grip on the bandage roll, it falling to the ground.

“Oh my fucking God, Josh. Oh my fucking God.” I turn my head to Simon, who is pacing up and down the hallway. Oh my God…


	6. A Way Out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: None.

_//Calfreezy’s POV//_

_Rapid beeping fills my ears. I try to move, but my body won’t allow it and for some reason I’m really tired. I hear muffled shouting and hands lie upon my wrists,_ _arms and shoulders. The shouting gets clearer then a pain shoots up my torso before ceasing at my neck. I realise that my eyes are not open, but I decide it’s for the_ _best not to do so. I drift peacefully back to sleep._

_//Josh’s POV//_

_Day 3_

No one got a good night’s sleep that night; after Calfreezy died, we all sat in the living room silently, only the sounds of the late night traffic sweeping through the room. I sat next to Simon on one of the two-seater sofas, my arm wrapped around his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. He eventually stopped crying and he leant his head against my tear-stained jacket then closed his eyes. He wasn’t the only one heavily affected by the aftermath. Harry was sat on the sofa next to us and was being hugged by Vik. Every time I looked over at them, Vik was rubbing his back and inaudibly whispering comforting things to him.

“I can’t fucking believe this!” Ethan stands up suddenly, my head jerking towards him.

“Hmm?” A weight is lifted from my shoulder, and Simon sleepily looks at Ethan. His eyes are puffy and red from crying the previous night, and his blond hair increasingly getting greasier.

“Calm down, Behz,” Tobi says quietly.

“I’m sorry, it’s just- it’s not every day your best mate dies!” We are all stunned to silence; since when were Behz and Freezy close?

“You were best friends?” I question. “Since when?”

Ethan pauses. “It’s a long story.”

“Maybe we should just rest for today? We’ll do some more things tomorrow.” I suggest, retrieving my arm from around Simon’s shoulders.

“What though?” JJ says, entering the room with a plate of sandwiches.

“I don’t know. Maybe we could book a flight back to England?”

“I really don’t want to stay here any longer.” He replies, placing the plate on the glass table. “Not after tonight.”

-

After finishing the sandwiches, which were surprisingly not that bad, everyone sat and watched TV. We sit there for the rest of the evening, flicking through terrible reality shows and game shows. Mid-way through the third Family Feud episode in a row, Simon rests his head on my shoulder again and sleeps. Surely I can’t be the most comfortable thing in the room, why is he sleeping on me? It’s a weird feeling, but I kind of like it. It’s nice to be more intimate with your friends every now and then, but not doing anything too questionable. I smile inwardly to myself and nestle my head in the greasy blond hair then let my eyes slip closed.


	7. On The Run... Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: None.

_//Simon’s POV//_

_Day 4_

The midday sun is scorching hot, and I’m sure most of us have sun burn even though we’ve only been out a couple of hours. Earlier, we decided to walk around and see if we could find the airport. I really did want to take the cars, but everyone else decided against it by saying ‘it will be nice to walk around for a bit’ or ‘it’s a bit stuffy in the cars’. They’re right, but it would be preferable to this.

We walk together for half an hour then someone taps my shoulder. I turn to face a very red Josh.

“Harry’s having another fit.”

He points over to Harry who is shivering violently on the ground, knees pulled up to his chest.

“Cal’s not… not dead…”

“Bog, he’s dead, I’m sorry.”

“He is alive and… well…”

We all look at each other when all of a sudden, Harry jumps up and continues to walk ahead.

“Are you guys coming?” 

None of us speak for a few minutes and we all stare at Harry. In return, Harry’s eyebrows raise in confusion.

“What?”

Josh shakes his head, his hair reflecting the sun’s rays. “It doesn’t matter, come on, guys.”

With hesitance, the rest of us follow them.

“What the fuck was that?”

I turn my head towards Ethan, who was walking beside me, hands in his hoodie pockets.

“Beats me.” I reply, shrugging my shoulders.

-

We all eventually catch up with Harry and Josh, and we walk with no disturbances for a good fifteen minutes.

“Freeze!” Our necks snap back to the heavily-armed police officers we saw on our first day. “Hold your hands up and no one gets shot!”

Without thinking, all of us raise our hands above our heads. Josh, who is standing next to me, murmurs for us all to run as fast as we can. As soon as the officers lower their weapons, we do just that.

We sprint down alleyways, splitting up in the process. I’m now drenched in sweat, the droplets accumulating on my shirt and forehead. Me and Josh turn down the same acute alley and I easily overtake him.

“Josh, take my hand, we’re sticking together!” I yell, holding out my hand for him to grab on to. He does and his hand is plastered in sweat. I grimace, but continue as we turn down several other alleyways, eventually coming out on a main road. Glancing behind me, I notice that there are two police officers still running after us, but at a slower pace because of the guns and armour. The officers shoot at us, but fortunately we dodge every bullet thrown at us.

A few more minutes of jogging later, and the officers are no longer chasing us.

“Hey, they’ve disappeared!” I say, a grin covering my face. Josh looks behind him and let’s go of my hand, but he plummets straight to the ground. “Josh!” I bend over him, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “You okay, bro?” I hold out my hand once more.

“Uh, I think so.” The dark-brunet replies, using my hand to pull himself up. He falls again, but catches himself so he doesn’t fall on the floor.

“I don’t think you are.” I look at his left ankle; it doesn’t look broken, but if he can’t stand on it correctly he must have done something to it. “Come here.” I loop my arm around his shoulders and start side-carrying him to our house. He whimpers a few times along the way, and I grimace in return.

A quarter of an hour later, and we thankfully reach the large house. I knock on the door, because I don’t think he can support himself long enough for me to open it. It opens and Tobi is on the other side.

“Oh my word, are you okay, mate?” He looks over Josh briefly before letting us in. I walk to the living room and carefully place him on an empty seat. Tobi sits next to him.  
“Shit, Josh!”

“Oh my God, are you okay?”

“What happened, guys?”

“Did you get shot?”

“Shut up, I’ll explain later.” I stop the flow of questions bombarding us then go to the kitchen where there is a first aid kit. I know jack shit about medicine and medical stuff, but I’m willing to help Josh. I retrace my steps to the living room and situate myself at Josh’s now levitated foot. “Can someone help?”

Looking around the room, I notice everyone staring at us- but Jide is nowhere in sight.

“Wait, where’s JJ?” I ask, my eyes glancing from one face to another.

“I don’t know, we thought he went with you.” Vik states, leaning on the wall beside me.

“He’ll find his way back, I’m sure of it.” Ethan says.

“What if he’s been killed?”

“Simon, let’s not think of that.” A hand rests on my back. “I know some stuff about this, I’ll help you.” Tobi offers.

“Thanks, mate.”


	8. Murderer!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Descriptions of blood.

_//Josh’s POV//_

_Day 5_

My foot is healing well, I think I sprained it since it wasn’t that bad. I still can’t walk properly though, but Simon is always there to help me. I don’t know why he wants to help me all of a sudden – it’s almost as if he’s being protective. Me and Simon are getting closer as each day progresses. Every time I look towards him, he’s always looking back at me. A strange emotion washes over me whenever he does anything. I’m not complaining, though, I kind of like the attention.

“Maybe when we die we survive.” Callux’s voice shakes me from my thoughts.

“What are you saying? You’re making no sense.” Ethan’s louder voice cascades throughout the hot room.

“Like, maybe we have to die in this world to return to ours?”

“Are you saying this is not the real world?”

“Well, I guess.”

“You’re insane, man.”

“What if we’re having a collective dream? It can happen, right?”

“It would have ended by now.”

We all sit quietly and I return to my thoughts. JJ still hasn’t made his way back to the house and none of us have seen him since we were confronted by the police officers. No one knows where he is, or if he’s even alive. Simon’s also gotten quieter; I guess the sudden loss of his best friend has had a negative impact on him.

My heart stops beating as I hear the front door nearly rip from its hinges. Everyone’s eyes are wide in fear. Footsteps come closer to the closed living room door, and we all suck in one huge breath in hope it’s not another thief. It opens, and JJ is standing in the doorway, two throwing knives held in his hand. They leave his hand quickly and embed themselves into the nearest people to him – which happens to be Vik and Tobi. Anger sweeps over me.

“Oh my God! What the fuck?” Simon shouts, rushing over to the two. I notice that JJ has fled; I swear if I see him again I’m going to kill him. I try to hobble over to my best friend of eleven years, and find that he is still awake.

“Tobi!” I shake his shoulders.

“It’s okay.”

“No it’s not! You’re dying on the carpet!”

“I’m gonna say… I’m gonna say this before I go; you’ve been… the best friend I’ve ever had. You’ve…”

“… Tobi?”

No response.

“Tobi!” My voice raises over the other’s and I place my head on his bloody chest, some of the cold liquid staining my face. “Tobi, please.”

Tobi’s lifeless form rests on the floor.

_“Please…”_


	9. JJ's Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Implied suicide; if you don't feel comfortable reading about suicide, skip JJ's POV.

_//Vik’s POV//_  
_Beeping is all I hear, and I feel like I’m dead and in the afterlife. But when my eyes open, they reveal I am not in fact dead. I am apparently alive and staring into a_ _white ceiling. Some men and a woman in lab coats rush towards me and begin touching me. I feel myself flinch away from them, but my eyes grow suddenly heavy_ _and shut slowly._

_//Josh’s POV//_

_Day 6_

“Josh, look at me!” I look up at Simon, my back pressing firmly into the wooden wall behind me. “We’re going to get through this, okay?”

I don’t respond, I feel like I can’t. A tear slides down my face and Simon’s hands are suddenly cupping my face, wiping away the stray droplet.

“We’re going to get through this.” He repeats, leaning his kneeling for into mine. His arms lock me in a comforting hug and I bury my face in his hair. My heart flutters to the point which I think I’m going to faint; I start to think that maybe I am growing closer to Simon. I’m straight though – I like women and I have a girlfriend. I’ve always had my suspicions about Simon, but right now they are being confirmed. I look back over the past week and note all the little things he did like comforting me on the first day when we found out we were in GTA Los Santos to us running hand-in-hand away from the police. I begin doubting my sexuality, and after several minutes pondering this, I came to the conclusion that I like both men and women. Maybe Simon is the same?

“This is all too much, I’m going outside.” Callux paces out of the room and onto the porch.

Ethan and Harry stand by me and Simon, laughing to themselves. I glare at them and they stop instantly and start talking with each other. Simon pulls out of the hug and sits beside me.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Um, Simon-“ I start, not knowing how to bring up the topic. “Do you… like me?”

“’Like’ you? As a friend or…?” The blond hints, cheeks tainting red slightly.

“Um… I don’t know?” My hand rubs the nape of my neck nervously. “It’s just, lately you’ve been getting closer to me.”

“Do you not like it? I’ll stop-“

“No, no. I do like it.”

We sit quietly side-by-side when Simon reaches for my hand. He intertwines our fingers and my heartbeat increases. I look at him and smile, and he glances back at me then squeezes my hand. Oh my God.

_//Callux’s POV//_

I lean against the wall of the house and run a hand through my black hair. The bricks are warm against my back, the sun blinding my eyes. I bring a hand up to cover my eyes so I don’t damage my eyes. The death of three of my friends in under a week is a lot to take in, and it has hit me hard. I was only really close to Freezy because we lived in the same apartment. I can only imagine what Josh must feel like now that his best friend has died in front of his own eyes.

“Hey, there. Are you all right?” A heavily-accented American man appears in front of me, looking down through his blackened sunglasses. “I’ll make you feel a whole lot better if you come with me, darling.”

My mind races and my blood pumps faster around my body as I instinctively stand up and kick him between his legs. He makes a disgruntled sound then moves his hands to cover his crotch.

“Now, that’s no way to treat a man trying to help you, pretty boy.” He stands up tall. He is clearly a foot taller than me, and I sprint inside to safety and bolt the door shut. The man knocks a few times, but I stay quiet. After a while I hear him walk off the porch. ‘Thank God.’ I think, sliding down the door.

_//JJ’s POV//_

Walking through the sunbathed American streets is a chore in itself. I don’t know where I’m going. I don’t know why I killed two of my best friends. I killed them when I had no reason to. I know that I’ll never be able to face any of the guys again, so I can’t go back to the house. My foot kicks a loose stone across the uneven pathway, and I realise I’ve come across an abandoned barn. I appear to have gone into the greener side of Los Santos, where there is a solitary barn standing. It’s not in the best condition; the wood looks rotten and the smashed windows make it look like something from a horror movie. I trek to the large double doors and push them open which takes a while because of how heavy they are.

Inside, it is unbelievably dark, despite most of the windows being knocked through. There are a few hay bales stacked neatly in the corner and a few water troughs against the far wall. There’s a second floor but the stairs leading up to it are rotten and will definitely give way if stepped on. There are some other things strewn carelessly around the floor including some rope. I walk over to one of the bundles of rope and believe it could come in handy soon.

I make my way over to a lone hay bale and perch on it, thinking about what has happened in the past week. Believe it or not, I do reflect my life often. Every death crosses my mind, running away from the police twice, Simon and Josh becoming incredibly close… it all just makes me want to curl up and die in a corner.

After much debate, I tie the rope into a hangman’s knot. I look around for a surface to tie it on, and I spot a wooden girder lying across the ceiling. I can’t believe I’m doing this.


	10. Ethan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mention of suicide in the first chapter, and more after the little '-'.

_//Josh’s POV//_

_Day 27_

It’s the 27th of May and me, Simon, Ethan, Harry and Callux are the only survivors. We concluded a while ago that JJ had died, and a walk around the greener area of Los Santos on the 13th confirmed that. Simon couldn’t believe it and had a breakdown when he saw his body hanging loosely from the ceiling of an old worn-down farmhouse. We came back and told the others and they were grateful that he was dead. I can understand that, but that only made Simon’s day a lot worse. JJ did kill two people, although Simon acts like he’s blind to that. It’s like he doesn’t acknowledge it.

Me and Simon are apparently a thing now, even though I’m still dating Freya. I am beginning to think this is just one big dream, but everything Simon says and does feels so real. I wonder how I’m going to tell Freya about this. But if this is a dream, things might become awkward between everyone. I don’t know what to do.

Harry hasn’t had another fit since we found JJ’s body. In fact, he’s barely even said anything. Callux and Ethan have been coping, but neither me nor Simon have spoken to them properly since the latest death.

Every night we sit in the living room watching TV shows. Me and Simon sitting as close as possible on the sofa while the other three roll their eyes. And tonight is no exception.  
Simon is sitting on my lap, his back leaning against my chest. My head rests on his shoulder as my eyes stare at the many colourful pixels on the screen.

“So are you two actually…?” Callux points between me and Simon.

“Yeah.” Simon answers, smiling and leaning further back into me.

“Aw, that’s cool, man.”

“You two make a great couple.” Ethan says, smiling a toothy grin. “When did you realise?”

“Actually not long ago. It was Simon that made me realise.” I laugh and wrap my arms around the blond’s slim figure while Ethan nods in response.

“I always thought you two were the straightest out of all of us.” Ethan comments, laughing by the end of the sentence. “Like, I’m always the gay one of the group, JJ says some very questionable things, Harry was definitely gay up until his teenage years-“

“Hey!” Interjects Harry, instantly turning his attention towards Ethan.

“Anyway, I need to take a shit, back in a minute.”

Ethan pushes himself up off the sofa and walks through the door and out of sight. The rest of us continue watching a show called Whose Line Is It Anyway? which is actually pretty amusing.

-

Once the show ends, I look to the clock on the wall and notice it is 11pm. Glancing to my right, I see Callux and Harry fast asleep on the sofa practically sleeping on each other. If I had my phone I would have taken a picture by now. Ethan still isn’t back; can a shit really take half an hour? He didn’t look constipated or anything, and I know something is wrong.

“Simon?”

“Yeah?”

“Where’s Ethan?”

Simon pauses and glares around the room.

“I don’t know.” He stands up from sitting on me and walks through the door and up the stairs. I quickly follow him up the creaky wooden stairs and across the hallway to the bathroom, but stop as I see Simon on his knees, head in his hands.

“Simon?” I cautiously approach the crying man. “Simon, are you okay?”

He says nothing and just points to the bathroom. I take a peek inside and see something I wish I could un-see.

Ethan’s lifeless body is led in the bath, his arms and legs covered in blood. His blood.

“Oh my fucking God. Simon, it’s okay, it’s okay.” I wrap my arms around my unstable boyfriend and hug him close in which he returns the embrace. My jacket once again becomes wet with his tears, but I am unable to care as there are bigger things to worry about.

“What’s happened, is-“ I hear Callux say, and I look up to him to see the black-haired man’s mouth agape. “Harry!” He shouts, turning back towards the stairs.

I turn my attention back to Simon, who is staring at the lifeless body of our former best friend.

“Why?” Simon mumbles quietly. “Why, Josh?”

“Shh, it’s okay.” I continue rubbing his hair, attempting to calm him down further. “We’ll get through this.”

“It’s like…” Simon looks up at me with his perfect ocean blue eyes. “It’s like this is not real life. Everyone’s dead, Josh!”


	11. The Final Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Implied suicide towards the end. Not detailed though.

_//Harry’s POV//_

_Day 30, 10:00pm_

I haven’t eaten since Ethan died. When I heard Cal say he had died, I didn’t know what to do. Ethan was like a brother to me, albeit we didn’t speak too often. Simon and Josh have never left each other’s side since the incident. They’re adorable together, however it does make me jealous of their relationship; it reminds my relationship. Callux has been holding up, but with five of our friends dead it’s kind of difficult to be in a positive state of mind right now.

I trek up the wooden stairs to the bathroom where Ethan had died. I can’t remember what we did with the body, or anyone’s body for that matter. I look around the small, surprisingly cold room and see something that I’ve never spotted before. A note is stuck to the mirror of the medicine cabinet. I reach up and take it down, reading in large letters ‘READ ME’ on the folded paper. I unfold the small note and read it.

‘Hey,

I know you’ll find this sooner or later but if you’re reading this then I am dead.

I think that Harry’s right. You must die to survive.

I don’t know if it will work, but we need to get back to the real world.

I’ll see you on the other side, hopefully.

-Ethan’

Staring at the piece of paper in my hands, I walk backwards out of the room and trot down the stairs.

“Guys!” I shout, making my way into the living room where Josh and Simon are cuddled up to each other as usual. “I found this taped to the mirror in the bathroom. It’s a death note from Behz.”

Cal strides towards me, stopping a few feet in front. “What does it say?”

I read out the note a second time, my breath hitching in my throat half way through.

I hear Callux murmur an ‘Oh my God’ and Simon and Josh exchange glances.

“This is too much, I’m just-“ Without warning, Callum runs to where there is a pistol, grabs it and shoots himself in the mouth. His blood splatters on the wall behind him, staining the light wallpaper.

-

_//Josh’s POV//_

_Day 30, 11:57pm_

I could sleep but I’m not tired. I also can’t sleep because I am planning to walk out in the road in a minute. I quickly step outside onto the darkened porch, slowly walking towards the main road.

“Josh!” A voice pierces the silence, and before I know it, Simon is grabbing my shoulder, heaving me back towards the house.

“Simon!” I yell. I instantly regret yelling at my boyfriend, so I lower my voice before continuing. “Simon. Maybe Harry is right-“

_11:58pm_

“Maybe we do need to die.”

Simon stares unblinkingly at me, his beautiful eyes scanning my face. “If you’re going to die, then so will I.”

I nod after a few moments of silence and we step out into the road. Simon grabs my hand-

_11:59pm_

Not letting go of my shaking limb. He squeezes it as a car speeds around the corner ahead of us.

“Here we go, Simon.”

“I love you Josh, never forget that!”

“I love you too.” I look towards him, then grab his face and press my lips against his-


	12. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: None

_//Josh’s POV//_

_Six months later_

“Hey guys, and welcome to a quick video with Simon-“

Simon waves at the camera. “Hey!”

“And today, we will be explaining what happened half a year ago.” I glance at Simon, taking his hand in my own under the desk. “It’s quite a touchy subject for us, I guess, so that’s why it this has taken a while.

“Seven months ago, the Sidemen, Callux and Calfreezy decided to go to America for two weeks.” Simon turns his head my way, smiling sadly. “Are you okay, do you want to-“

“No, no, it’s okay. I just like looking at you.”

“Oh my God, Simon.” I giggle and blush slightly. “Anyway, something happened between us leaving the Stratford Halo and getting to the airport that stopped us doing that. All three of our cars were hit by a drunk driver and as a result, we all went into a coma from the injuries.

“Something very strange and rare happened which meant that we were all in a ‘collective coma’. That means it was kind of like a really long dream where we all played ourselves and- well yeah. I won’t tell you everything that happened because it would take literally hours.”

“Yeah, and we were in that coma for about a month.”

“A lot of bad shit happened that we really don’t want to talk about. You may be wondering why we’re telling you this, but we’re telling you this because it links to Harry’s death.”

“Long story short, Harry didn’t come out of the coma because of what he didn’t do whilst in that coma if that makes sense.”

“So, sorry for not releasing videos for a couple of months, I’m sure you understand.”

“Oh yeah, we’re together now.” Simon raises up our hands from under the desk, showing our interlaced fingers to the camera.

“I think that’s about it, but if you have any questions, leave them down in the comments or Tweet either of us or any of the Sidemen actually and we will try to answer them.”

Simon grabs my face and places his lips against mine, but removes them after a few seconds.

“That’s one for all of the Minizerk shippers out there.”

“So, um, thanks for watching- God, I’ve forgotten my outro.”

Simon giggles.

“Uh, thanks for watching, leave a like on this video, show support for Harry and, yeah…”

“Peace!”


End file.
